Parish Newsletters
28th & 29th Sunday of the Year (C)
11 października 2025
THOUGHTS FOR THIS WEEKEND
From the Society of St Gregory.
28th Sunday
Each of the Scripture Readings this weekend shows the dramatic transformation of one who was once at the edge of a faith community but now brought into God’s full circle. Naaman and the Samaritan leper are brought into full healing and community by their gratitude to God.
29th Sunday
In the First Reading we will hear about Moses raising his hands in prayer. The lifting up of arms and hands in the air is an ancient gesture of prayer and one that is still in use today. It is a physical illustration of the main theme of this liturgy: the need for perseverance in prayer.
26th & 27th Sunday of the Year (C)
28 września 2025
THOUGHTS FOR THIS WEEKEND
Twenty-Sixth Sunday -
For the three authors of the Readings we shall hear this weekend, Amos, Paul and Luke all advise us to ‘pursue righteousness, devotion, faith, love, patience and gentleness’. (1 Timothy).
Twenty-Seventh Sunday -
Much has been done in recent years, particularly during the Pontificate of the late, dear Pope Francis, to help rediscover the visionary heart of the church in all aspects of their life and worship, especially in every Catholic.
25th Sunday of the Year (C)
20 września 2025
THOUGHTS FOR THIS WEEKEND
On today’s Gospel from Music and Liturgy
Today the Gospel Reading begins from the second part of the ‘Travel Narrative’ in the Gospel of St Luke: the obstacles facing those who follow Jesus. It might help to read this puzzling parable in that light.
First the manager is reported to his master for wasting materials, so he is called to account for his stewardship, probably to lose his post. So he does his own deals with his master’s debtors so that he will find, maybe, another post with one of them.
24th Sunday of the Year (C)
13 września 2025
THOUGHTS FOR THIS WEEKEND
Although the Liturgy of Good Friday is intended to celebrate the Triumph of The Cross, its tone is often dominated more by the Solemn Reading of the Passion from the Gospel of St John. As this year the Feast of the Exaltation of the Holy Cross falls on a Sunday, and, being a Feast of the Lord, it displaces the Liturgy of the Twenty-Fourth Sunday in Ordinary Time and has its own Prayers and Readings Proper to the Day and it enables us to sound the triumphant note, ‘We should glory in the Cross of Our Lord Jesus Christ, for he is our Salvation, our Life and our Resurrection. Through him we are saved and made free.’
The Parish of Haigh, Aspull & Blackrod
Our Lady of the Immaculate Conception was founded in the mid 1850's and is part of the R.C. Diocese of Salford. The Church was blessed and opened in 1858, the year of the apparitions of Our Lady at Lourdes. The Church was re-ordered in the 1990's and several new stained-glass windows were installed, some made in Blackrod, and are an interesting feature of the Church.
Holy Family Parish, New Springs, was funded from Our Lady's in 1898 and in 2009 clebrated the Golden Jubilee of its Church. The community of Blackrod, Bolton, had a chapel-of-ease from 1960 to 2009 when St. Andrews Church Hall was closed.
All three areas - Haigh & Aspull, Blackrod and New Springs are now served from Our Lady's.
Rev Kevin Foulkes
48 Haigh Road
Aspull
Wigan WN2 1YA
TEL: 01942 516732
Mass Times
Saturday
Sunday
Monday
Tuesday
Wednesday
Thursday
Friday
Saturday
6.00pm
9.30am
11.15am
9.15am
9.15am
9.15am
9.15am
9.15am
11.00am
Haigh
Haigh
Holy Family
Haigh
Holy Family
Haigh
Holy Family
Haigh
Haigh
Sacrament of Reconciliation
Saturday
11:30 - 12 noon
As announced
Haigh
Holy Family
A Parish History ~ 1858-2018
Mr Livesey & Mr West have worked with local parishioners to produce a book about the history of our parish and school, they have kindly allowed us to reproduce an electronic version of their book, available on the Parish Page, CLICK HERE to read it.
If you would like to purchase a hard copy of the book CLICK HERE
Forward...
It is a privilege and honour to write the forward to the Parish History of Our Lady’s Parish, on its 160th Anniversary.
It has also been a privilege and honour, and a pleasure, to serve as Our Lady’s Parish Priest since 1997 – following in the footsteps of my twenty-six predecessors.
Saint Peter writes ‘He is the living stone, rejected by men but chosen by God and precious to him; set yourselves close to him so that you too, the holy priesthood that offers the spiritual sacrifices which Jesus Christ has made acceptable to God, may be living stones making a spiritual house.’ (Peter 2:3-5)
We are the living stones of this Christian community – commissioned as ‘missionary disciples’ to be Christ’s ‘ambassadors’ (St. Paul Cor. 5:20) in loving witness, worship and service to our community.
There have been many changes over these 160 years – in the Church, Society, Education and the design of Our Lady’s Church. The priests and people of Our Lady’s Parish have experienced many joyful family and Parish celebrations but also wars, peace, poverty and economic depressions, through twelve Pontificates and six Reigns – and we too are facing a challenging time for the Catholic Church. Blessed John Henry, Cardinal Newman wrote that ‘To live is to change and to be perfect is to have changed often’.
And so, building on and celebrating our heritage – the stones of Our Lady’s Church, and the ‘living stones’ of our dedicated, faithful and often courageous priests, parishioners and teachers in our Parish School we can face the future with confidence. We do so knowing that Jesus, Our Risen Lord, has promised to be with his Church forever. (Matthew 28:20)
I commend this publication to be read and enjoyed by everyone.
Many thanks to Phil Livesey and Neil West for their initiative to begin and to bring this book to completion and to all who have collaborated with them, with their own very interesting and often amusing memories! God bless you all.
Fr Kevin C. Foulkes